December Dairy Cow Culling Slows

The United States Department of Agriculture reported this after that dairy cow culling slowed somewhat in December.

Some 259,000 dairy cows were slaughtered through federally inspected plants in December, down 3,000 head from December 2011 and 10,000 head from November. For the year, however, 187,000 more dairy cows were sent to hamburger heaven in 2012 compared to 2011.

USDA reported yesterday that December dairy cow numbers on U.S. farms were down 10,000 head compared to a year ago. But for the year, they were still up 37,000 head over 2011.